Peru! So excited! Who has been?

~Jessie~

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#1
We booked our initial flight last night, so there's no turning back now! :p

Peru has been on my "trip list" since I was a little kid. We've gone back and forth on the idea over the past few years, but it's a difficult trip to plan so we've always said "maybe next year."

This year we decided we're just going to do it. We have to fly to Lima, then get a small flight to Cuzco, and then there's Peru Rail- the train that runs through the Sacred Valley towards Machu Picchu.

We're piecing together everything this week, and then we just have to fill in the spaces with hotels and of course our Machu Picchu tickets.

I'm SO excited. I'm nervous about the altitude, but I've hiked at 9,000 feet elevation before, so I'm hoping I won't have any issues.

Has anyone here been to Peru before? Did you love it? Was it worth it?
 
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Has anyone here been to Peru before? Did you love it? Was it worth it?
Yes, and yes.

Was there in Oct of 2002. Spent a few days in Cusco, did the sacred valley day tour, then did the 4 day hike to Machu Picchu .

We were in Bolivia for about 3 weeks before hand though in the high plains at about 8K feet, so that helped. When we flew in to La Paz that was abotu 10 or 12K and waking up with a hangover wasn't fun there :) as soon as the plane depressurized, some passed out. Everybody's lips were blue. Matches wouldn't even stay lit. You could still carry matches and lighters on planes at that time.

by the time we got to Peru, altitude was nothing, the hike was awesome, the history and scenery were amazing. I keep telling myself I'm going back to do a 10 or 12 day hike, but so far haven't.

You guys should have a lot of fun
 

~Jessie~

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Yes, and yes.

Was there in Oct of 2002. Spent a few days in Cusco, did the sacred valley day tour, then did the 4 day hike to Machu Picchu .

We were in Bolivia for about 3 weeks before hand though in the high plains at about 8K feet, so that helped. When we flew in to La Paz that was abotu 10 or 12K and waking up with a hangover wasn't fun there :) as soon as the plane depressurized, some passed out. Everybody's lips were blue. Matches wouldn't even stay lit. You could still carry matches and lighters on planes at that time.

by the time we got to Peru, altitude was nothing, the hike was awesome, the history and scenery were amazing. I keep telling myself I'm going back to do a 10 or 12 day hike, but so far haven't.

You guys should have a lot of fun
Awesome! I would've loved to hike the Inca Trail... but I'm too afraid of the elevation and my asthma. I'm comforted by the fact that hotels have oxygen machines if needed :p

Bolivia is also on my "to do" list someday. I'd LOVE to see the salt flats and the scenery is amazing. The elevation and the difficulty of planning/traveling (and getting a Visa) keeps me from doing it. If we can make it through Peru, though, Bolivia won't see as difficult as it does now!
 

milos_mommy

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I've never been, but my cousin and Aunt are going in May and I think my Mom and brother might go next year, so I'm very curious to hear about it! All of them are going for volunteer work though, and I'm not sure where...cousin and Aunt are building a school, Mom and brother will go for Doctors without Borders...I think they typically hit really rural areas.
 

Tortilla

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#6
That's so exciting! I've never gone, but my mum has and said it was amazing. I'm sure you'll have an AWESOME time and I fully expect lots of pictures. :D
 

RedHotDobe

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I have one of those!! Well, I did. I brought it back from San Diego for my sister. She has a big alpaca, so I figured she needed a little llama to keep him company, lol. I got the smallest one I could find - he's only about two inches tall. And completely adorable.

I've never been to Peru, but have fun!
 
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#10
Here's a few pictures from that trip


One of my friends in a market on the way to Ollantayatambo


Some of us at the start of the hike, about 20 minutes of hiking later, it was sunny and hot and dry.



This was taken not long after the previous



Some of the trail got a little narrow



At the end of the hike, waiting to get into Machu Picchu and I made a new friend :) Just came up and layed down. Lots of strays down there, way more than you could imagine. Everywhere there were stray dogs.



On top of Huayna Picchu, that's Machu Picchu below.
 

sparks19

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#11
very cool :). never been and I never will go since you have to fly there LOL so I'll just live vicariously.
 

CaliTerp07

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Way cool! I was thinking of you today--a girlfriend and I just booked tickets this morning for a week in Ireland for spring break at the end of March. Any chance you still have itineraries/lodging recommendations/etc?
 

~Jessie~

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Thanks for sharing those pictures, Release the Hounds! The scenery is incredible! I didn't realize that there were so many stray dogs- I guess it comes with the territory. There were SO many when we were in Nicaragua, and the hard part was leaving them there. It makes me feel better to know that they get to live in such beautiful places, though!

How hard was the hike up Hyano Picchu? Most people say it takes about an hour, but it's pretty strenuous.

I'm in decent shape- we hike regularly, but it's never at too high of an elevation. The only "high" elevation hike I went on was at 9,000 miles in Costa Rica, and that was only about 2 or 3 miles.

Way cool! I was thinking of you today--a girlfriend and I just booked tickets this morning for a week in Ireland for spring break at the end of March. Any chance you still have itineraries/lodging recommendations/etc?
I do!

I actually have a book of all the bed and breakfasts in Ireland if you want to borrow it! It was a great resource for us... it listed their pictures, ratings, websites, phone numbers, etc. I also have the Frommers guide which was helpful to have as a resource. I probably still have a bunch of pamphlets from Dublin in my travel box. I can mail them out to you tomorrow :)

Where in Ireland are you going? We stayed on the east coast when we went for a week. We eventually want to go back and do the west coast. Let me search my e-mail, because I have a copy of our itinerary written out.

Ireland is AMAZING- you will have a great time!
 

CaliTerp07

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I actually have a book of all the bed and breakfasts in Ireland if you want to borrow it! It was a great resource for us... it listed their pictures, ratings, websites, phone numbers, etc. I also have the Frommers guide which was helpful to have as a resource. I probably still have a bunch of pamphlets from Dublin in my travel box. I can mail them out to you tomorrow :)

Where in Ireland are you going? We stayed on the east coast when we went for a week. We eventually want to go back and do the west coast. Let me search my e-mail, because I have a copy of our itinerary written out.

Ireland is AMAZING- you will have a great time!
We're flying in/out of Shannon, but we'll rent a car and try to get around. I think a night or two in Galway, Dublin, and somewhere(s) in the south. Any resources you have would be awesome :) I have made my pinterest vacation board and am compiling activities and sights!
 

~Jessie~

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We're flying in/out of Shannon, but we'll rent a car and try to get around. I think a night or two in Galway, Dublin, and somewhere(s) in the south. Any resources you have would be awesome :) I have made my pinterest vacation board and am compiling activities and sights!
Be sure to go to Glendaloch and walk to both lakes- it's such an amazing place.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glendalough

PM me your address and I'll send my stuff to you :)

I love how someone gave this thread one star. Haha.
 

Dakotah

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#16
You seriously do go on some of the best vacations ever! Whenever I get around to traveling, you will be my go-to gal for recommendations/tips/advice.
 

Dogdragoness

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My ex boyfriend was Peruvian ... He promised to take me ... But we ended up breaking up befor that happened of course :/ from what I have heard people say about it, you're going to love it.
 

~Tucker&Me~

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So umm... Want to collect some Peruvian fish from the rivers for me? :D My tank is a SA tank and most of my fish are from Brazil and Peru! :p

I am jealous, you will have a blast. Post pictures after!
 

~Jessie~

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I'm SO excited- I ended up getting a room at one of the hotels I really wanted to stay. I was worried that they'd be booked up, but I was lucky :)

You seriously do go on some of the best vacations ever! Whenever I get around to traveling, you will be my go-to gal for recommendations/tips/advice.
Haha. Anytime! :D I keep very detailed itineraries for every place we've been and/or researched! I have Alaska, Colombia, Iceland, and a couple of other places written out and researched, even though I've never been to any of them. It makes it easier to narrow down the places we want to go to, and then I can just use them in the future :)

So umm... Want to collect some Peruvian fish from the rivers for me? :D My tank is a SA tank and most of my fish are from Brazil and Peru! :p

I am jealous, you will have a blast. Post pictures after!
LOL! Somehow, I don't think they'd make it through customs :rofl1:
 
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How hard was the hike up Hyano Picchu? Most people say it takes about an hour, but it's pretty strenuous.

I'm in decent shape- we hike regularly, but it's never at too high of an elevation. The only "high" elevation hike I went on was at 9,000 miles in Costa Rica, and that was only about 2 or 3 miles.
I don't remember how long it was really, it's been a few years, but I don't remember it being an hour. We stashed our packs though so we didn't carry anything up there and we went right they opened up the trail so we didn't really have to wait for anybody and we got right up it. at that point it was climbing a very steep hill, and it is steep, and narrow.

It's steep, blows my mind that anybody lived there. If you're in decent shape, you shouldn't have too much trouble just move at a nice steady pace and you'll be fine. It's cool. There were only 3 of us that went up there from our hike and I can't believe to this day, the rest of them went that far and didn't do the rest. They missed out.

I'd have to look, but I don't think the elevation is a huge deal at Machu Picchu. I know we climbed as high as 11K, but then the next day it's almost all downhill. By the time we hiked into Machu Picchu it was much lower, but I forget the actual elevation.

Getting up on Huayna Picchu was a trip though. It's like you're climbing to the top of a needle with no guard rails once you get to the tip :) It's not that bad, but it is a little freaky, at least it was for me. But totally worth it.

Did I mention it was steep?
 

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